A little confused about FF.

[Well]

So, I've never seen or played any of the Final Fantasy series, and just got a PS3. I am waiting on Soulcalibur 5 to arrive via mail, but I can't help myself forgetting all that talk over the years for the series which I've noticed.

I've done some research and I am a little confused:

a) Is it online? Or is that the to be expected installement?

b) Is it like Dragon Age? You play one character but can setup tactics and such?

c) Which one should I buy? There are so many and I have no idea about them or their quality etc.

[Reeve]

Final Fantasy 3 (6 in Japan) and Final Fantasy 7 were the best of the series, but they're quite old now, and the graphics may not satisfy you.

[StayTuned]

Uh. I grew up with FF and I have to say that you should not play any PS3 version of FF.

FF went downhill after FF X. But again, that's just me.

a) Is it online? Or is that the to be expected installement?

It's offline singleplayer with one MMO (FF XI) and another one coming soon. The MMOs sucked so far, though.

b) Is it like Dragon Age? You play one character but can setup tactics and such?


You were always able to play all chars, even though there was always "one" main char. But that's the beauty, if you don't want Tidus (FFX) to be your main char you could just switch it and play the game with another char.

FF was either round based or time based, but you always decided each move your own. Newer FF titles have a new system where you only control one char actively and give the others strategic commands which they execute automatically. I hate it.

c) Which one should I buy? There are so many and I have no idea about them or their quality etc.

If graphics don't scare you, start with FF7 and move on to X. FF7 is however PS1 and FFX is PS2.

[Well]

to be completely honest, as a child I had played Kingdom Hearts extensively, and by extensively I mean time-wise. I remember that I was level 50, but still had some worlds not done. Not having internet and not knowing about it gave me an experience I will never forget and that's why I am inclined to play some of the series.

Graphics scare me tbh

Should I try 13?

[StayTuned]

I don't know man. I tried FF13, but it bored me so much even though the story was nice. I guess if you never played any FF before you can give 13 a try, it's a nice game but the combat system is just horrible in my eyes.

You never played with the old one so you won't have to compare them anyway.

[reckoner04]

I like FFXIII, but most fans will tell you that it's the worst game of the series because of linearity and the combat system I think. As an outsider it wouldn't seem that different from the other FF titles though, I think. I'd say you should give it a try and see if you like it.

[Nightfall]

FF13 is not FF. I couldn't force myself to finish it. The combat system is boring, the talent system is linear and boring, the weapon upgrade system is beyond awful, characters are shallow and annoying, the gameplay is super-linear, the music is meh. It's as bad as FFX-2. The graphics are good though.

If you want to play a good FF game, you're better off playing FF7, 8, 9, X, 12. Those were the games. All have their flaws, but they are still good games. FF7 has the worst graphics of those I mentioned and the ingame super-deformed characters may not come to your liking, the gameplay is rather slow, but RPG elements are great and the story is interesting too. FF8 lacks in character progression - obtaining magic is tiresome, levelling is useless and sometimes counterproductive (the monsters' level depends on yours, like in Oblivion), but the storyline is engaging. FF9 is one of my favorites - I like the characters, the graphics, the music, the gameplay, the world and the levelling system are imo the best in FF series. FFX has good playstyle, an amazing story and great characters, but the main protagonist is a bit stupid and his voiceover is rather annoying ("ha-ha-ha-ha" if you know what I mean). Still it's very good. FF12 is more like single-player MMO if you could say so - you make macros for your teammates and they fight accordingly (auto-use health potions at 25% health, recast defencive spells, auto-revive dead, auto-cast certain spells - it's a really different experience. FF13 on the other hand is just run forward, fight with one button, giving 1 command (autoattack) and switching paradigms, then listen to useless whining of main characters. I just hate FF13 - watch Spoony One's video about FF13, every word is true. http://spoonyexperiment.com/2012/12/...y-xiii-part-1/ That's part 1 of 4, the others are easy to find on this site.

[StayTuned]

Nightfall pretty much summed it all up

I can't understand this new combat style ... why?! FF was not supposed to be CoD

[Well]

Sounds like I should stick with Soulcalibur then. Thanks all for your input.

[slackjawsix]

Haters gonna hate, FF13 was my favorite so far. Combat is a joke early game but once u get to the later ends of the game you really have to concentrate

[Katchii]

It's offline singleplayer with one MMO (FF XI) and another one coming soon. The MMOs sucked so far, though.

FFXI doesn't and didn't suck, it's just time consuming, a lot different than other mainstream MMO's and relatively more difficult than other MMO's so it won't fit what a lot of people may want or like in an MMO. I won't get into it here, but if you want more information on it you can google guides and such and read up on it.

Also, FFXIII wasn't bad, but pretty much every other FF game is better with the exception of FFXII, I could NOT enjoy FFXII because of the character controls in battle (translated..there really were none). I honestly just felt like I never played the game because it played it for me most of the time....hit the forward button and let the story play out.

[Reeve]

Uh. I grew up with FF and I have to say that you should not play any PS3 version of FF.

FF went downhill after FF X. But again, that's just me.

a) Is it online? Or is that the to be expected installement?

It's offline singleplayer with one MMO (FF XI) and another one coming soon. The MMOs sucked so far, though.

b) Is it like Dragon Age? You play one character but can setup tactics and such?


You were always able to play all chars, even though there was always "one" main char. But that's the beauty, if you don't want Tidus (FFX) to be your main char you could just switch it and play the game with another char.

FF was either round based or time based, but you always decided each move your own. Newer FF titles have a new system where you only control one char actively and give the others strategic commands which they execute automatically. I hate it.

c) Which one should I buy? There are so many and I have no idea about them or their quality etc.

If graphics don't scare you, start with FF7 and move on to X. FF7 is however PS1 and FFX is PS2.

You can download FF7 for the PS3 from the Playstation store.

---------- Post added 2013-06-20 at 09:42 AM ----------

I don't know man. I tried FF13, but it bored me so much even though the story was nice. I guess if you never played any FF before you can give 13 a try, it's a nice game but the combat system is just horrible in my eyes.

You never played with the old one so you won't have to compare them anyway.

I had the opposite experience. I though the combat paradigm was good in FFXIII, but the game was too linear and the story was obnoxious.

FF7 wins for the story hands down IMO, if we're talking FF games. Otherwise ChronoTrigger and Earthbound are even better.

---------- Post added 2013-06-20 at 09:44 AM ----------

FF9 has the best story and characters. Fact

FF9's story isn't bad, but I couldn't finish it because at some point it just got annoying how it took 5 minutes to do every single random encounter because of the slow load times and excessively long combat animations.

[Kathandira]

So, I've never seen or played any of the Final Fantasy series, and just got a PS3. I am waiting on Soulcalibur 5 to arrive via mail, but I can't help myself forgetting all that talk over the years for the series which I've noticed.

I've done some research and I am a little confused:

a) Is it online? Or is that the to be expected installement?

b) Is it like Dragon Age? You play one character but can setup tactics and such?

c) Which one should I buy? There are so many and I have no idea about them or their quality etc.

Bit off topic, but I'm sorry you spent money on Soul Calibur 5. Weakest link in the series. **need to get a copy of Soul Calibur 3 again**

[Porcell]

I downloaded all of the FF games on PS3 a month or so back when they were on sale (though disappointed that FF4 is Vita only, that's the one I really wanted to play.) I tried to start up FF7 but the graphics were just WAY too bad and clunky and low resolution. That said, I didn't mind the graphics of FF1 or FF6 because they are what they are and weren't trying to be super great.

Download and play Final Fantasy 6. Still my favorite game ever, hands down.
I replayed the original Final Fantasy, which was great nostalgia since I originally played it when it was released on NES back in 1987. The PS version updated the combat system to be like FF6, so it's really much better. I still haven't done 8 or 9 yet, just started playing through 5.

[Gheld]

FF9 has the best story and characters. Fact

I think you've had too much sleeping weed. FF6 is clearly the best. :P

[Reeve]

I downloaded all of the FF games on PS3 a month or so back when they were on sale (though disappointed that FF4 is Vita only, that's the one I really wanted to play.) I tried to start up FF7 but the graphics were just WAY too bad and clunky and low resolution.

I remember when I first got FF7 my father walked into the room and marveled at how far graphics technology had come because it was so amazing. Kinda makes me sad that such an amazingly good game is discounted these days because the graphics are out of date now. :*(

[Gheld]

I remember when I first got FF7 my father walked into the room and marveled at how far graphics technology had come because it was so amazing. Kinda makes me sad that such an amazingly good game is discounted these days because the graphics are out of date now. :*(

I think the rampant fanboyism is what ruins it. I remember thoroughly enjoying the game, but I find when I see people hold something in a higher esteem than it deserves I just start to hate it and pick it apart. But I remember it as. It was a great game. Epic, but not Legendary. The game play/summon system were on par with all prior final fantasy games. The pre-rendered "walking on a painting" backgrounds were absolutely stunning. The musical score was fitting, and it was probably the last FF game that had a musical score worth the roll it was printed on. The real time 3d graphics kind of sucked, even for their time though. The FMV's were cool, but Cloud and Sephiroth were terribad anime cliches.

But yeah, FF7 was the last Final Fantasy game before the developers were like "WE'RE SELLING MORE GAMES THAN EVER BEFORE, CLEARLY WE NEED TO CHANGE THE FORMULA." And then came the steady downward spiral towards oblivion. The steam punk elements that fueled its narrative were quickly replaced with Tech Noir crap. And I stopped playing at 12, but to my understanding 13 is just full on cyberpunk now.

So I guess the FF7 fanboyism is understandable, since it's the last time they got it right. FF9 was fun and all, but you can tell that they just didn't try as hard with it. I mean there's people out there who can rush through the core gameplay in 8 hours.

10's quirks are forgivable because it was the first FF game to introduce voice acting. But Y U TAKE MY AIRSHIP!? Getting rid of the world map was a terribad decision. The world map is an RPG staple. And the end game side quests were just boring. FF7 you had the golden saucer, and the weapons, and I could go on forever. FF6 had the most epic side quests of all. The whole second half of the game is end-game side quests. (Although some of them were very cryptic and unclear, such as the Cursed Shield and the Crusader Magicite and what-not).

But yeah, going back to the 16 bit era, Final Fantasy and the other Square rpgs are definitely the king of RPG. But now there's just so many better options.

[GrieverXIII]

Final Fantasy are for the most part turn based games (even if most use a system called "ATB" where enemies will still continue to act even if you take too much time playing your own turns). Combats usually involve 3 or 4 characters depending on the game, including the game's main character. (Usually a Warrior-Type unless its a class based game and with the exception of 6 (Mage) and 9 (Thief/Rogue). In most games you must keep your main character in your party outside a few major story arcs where he leaves it temporarly.

The stories and worlds tend to be very rich and entertaining (from 6 to 10 anyway, after that the writing went downhill in my opinion). From that point of view, they are definitively worth playing.

The games usually have decent puzzle elements and sidequests that you can do to extend your playtime.

Characters are highly customisable in pretty much every titles (except 6 but the game has many, many characters to make up for it). Best customisation system to this day is still FF7s Materia system to me. So you can make anyone in your party do whatever you want, even if there's still decent cue's on what's a character's speciality (like you can try to make a Spellcaster out of Cloud in FF7 (Warrior-type guy with a gigantic 2handed sword) and make it work but its obviously not going to be optimal).

Combat itself is fairly static, and by today's standard uninvolving tough.

If you're an RPG fan i definitively think you should try it (start with 7 o 9 in my opinion) but you will need to keep an open mind and remember its games from a different generation, personally i went trough some of them (and other old school rpgs like Star Ocean or Xenogears) not too long ago but i tend to threat those games as interactive books so i focus more on the story than the combat elements.

[Reeve]

I think the rampant fanboyism is what ruins it. I remember thoroughly enjoying the game, but I find when I see people hold something in a higher esteem than it deserves I just start to hate it and pick it apart. But I remember it as. It was a great game. Epic, but not Legendary. The game play/summon system were on par with all prior final fantasy games. The pre-rendered "walking on a painting" backgrounds were absolutely stunning. The musical score was fitting, and it was probably the last FF game that had a musical score worth the roll it was printed on. The real time 3d graphics kind of sucked, even for their time though. The FMV's were cool, but Cloud and Sephiroth were terribad anime cliches.

I never understood the idea that because a lot of other people like a thing too much that means it's time to pick it apart. Sometimes a thing is popular because it is in fact good. I've known people who didn't like a band because their songs were overplayed 10 years ago. OK, I can see how overplaying a song might make you sick of it, but it doesn't mean it was a bad song.

But yeah, FF7 was the last Final Fantasy game before the developers were like "WE'RE SELLING MORE GAMES THAN EVER BEFORE, CLEARLY WE NEED TO CHANGE THE FORMULA." And then came the steady downward spiral towards oblivion. The steam punk elements that fueled its narrative were quickly replaced with Tech Noir crap. And I stopped playing at 12, but to my understanding 13 is just full on cyberpunk now.

I pretty much agree with this entirely. They decided to go weird and EMO, and the settings and enemies just got more and more bizarre. I mean what the hell was the enemy in FFX, Sin? The hell? The only things FF8 and FF10 had going for them were the minigames (Card Game and Blitzball).

So I guess the FF7 fanboyism is understandable, since it's the last time they got it right. FF9 was fun and all, but you can tell that they just didn't try as hard with it. I mean there's people out there who can rush through the core gameplay in 8 hours.

How the hell is that possible when it took a character ten fucking minutes just to cast a damn spell? If the combat were a bit faster, I might have actually finished that game.

10's quirks are forgivable because it was the first FF game to introduce voice acting. But Y U TAKE MY AIRSHIP!? Getting rid of the world map was a terribad decision. The world map is an RPG staple. And the end game side quests were just boring. FF7 you had the golden saucer, and the weapons, and I could go on forever. FF6 had the most epic side quests of all. The whole second half of the game is end-game side quests. (Although some of them were very cryptic and unclear, such as the Cursed Shield and the Crusader Magicite and what-not).

FFX was nothing but annoying teen angst, boring looking enemies, and a lack of open world. Again, the only thing it had going for it was Blitzball.

But yeah, going back to the 16 bit era, Final Fantasy and the other Square rpgs are definitely the king of RPG. But now there's just so many better options.

Chronotrigger and Earthbound were both the best RPGs of the 16 bit era imo. FF6 was great, and almost as good, but not quite.

[v2prwsmb45yhuq3wj23vpjk]

Final Fantasy 3 (6 in Japan) and Final Fantasy 7 were the best of the series, but they're quite old now, and the graphics may not satisfy you.

Everybody says this but I think this is mostly due to nostalgia. FF3 was so good compared to the other SNES games and FF7 was a breakthrough game (first FF game that was on the PS and had PS-styled graphics and expanded gameplay).

I think FF9 is better than FF7 and FF3.